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When you put on a suit, most people register three things before they notice the cut of the trousers or the shine of your shoes: the shoulders, the collar and the lapels. The lapel is the folded flap of fabric running from the collar down to the top button, and its shape quietly tells everyone in the room whether you are dressed for a Tuesday morning meeting, a summer wedding, or a black-tie dinner. Get the lapel right and the suit feels effortless. Get it wrong and even a beautifully made jacket can look like it belongs to someone else.
There are three principal shapes to know: notch, peak and shawl. Each has its own history, its own message and its own set of occasions where it shines. Once you understand them, choosing a suit becomes far simpler.
The notch lapel is what most men picture when they close their eyes and imagine a suit. Where the collar meets the lapel, a small step or "notch" is cut into the fabric, creating a neat V-shape with points that angle slightly downward. It is the default on single-breasted jackets for good reason: it is understated, versatile and flattering on nearly every build.
For business, it is genuinely hard to go wrong. A notch lapel is appropriate for interviews, client meetings, the office and almost any daytime event where a suit is expected. If you own only one suit, this is the one to own.
Peak lapels have points that rise upwards towards the shoulders rather than pointing down. They draw the eye outwards and upwards, which broadens the chest and gives the wearer a more commanding silhouette. Historically they belonged to double-breasted jackets and formal wear, and they still carry a whiff of authority today.
You will see peak lapels on double-breasted suits, on formal morning coats, and increasingly on single-breasted jackets cut with one button for weddings and evening events. They are a wonderful choice if you are tall and slim and want to add a little visual width, or if you simply want to look a touch more dressed than everyone else in the room.
The shawl lapel has no notch and no peak. Instead, the collar flows in one smooth, continuous curve from the neck down to the button. It is the signature of the dinner jacket, and it belongs almost exclusively to black tie and other evening occasions. On a velvet smoking jacket or a midnight-blue tuxedo, it looks superb; on a business suit, it looks like a mistake.
The facing is often finished in satin, grosgrain or velvet, which catches the light and gives the jacket a subtle shimmer after dark. If you attend black-tie events more than once or twice a year, a shawl-collar dinner jacket is a genuinely worthwhile investment — it is timeless in a way that few other garments are.
Lapel width matters as much as lapel shape. A classic British width sits somewhere between 8cm and 9.5cm. Slimmer lapels — around 6cm to 7cm — had a long moment in fashion, but they can make a broad-chested man look squeezed and a tall man look spindly. Wider lapels, from 10cm upwards, suit bigger frames and taller gents beautifully, echoing the confident tailoring of the 1930s and 1940s.
As a rough guide, the widest point of your lapel should sit somewhere near the widest point of your tie, and should look proportionate to your shoulders. If you have a round face, slightly narrower lapels can balance it; if your face is long and narrow, a wider lapel adds welcome weight. The gorge — the point where the collar meets the lapel — should sit high enough to look modern, but not so high that it crowds your collar.
Two or three details are worth checking in the fitting room. First, make sure the lapel lies flat against your chest without gaping; if it bows outwards, the jacket is too tight across the chest. Second, check the button stance: a jacket that buttons too low lengthens the torso but can shorten the legs, while one that buttons too high can look fussy. Third, consider the roll of the lapel — a softly rolled lapel, rather than a hard-pressed edge, is generally the mark of better tailoring and looks more natural when worn open.
Above all, remember that lapels are not a fashion statement to be chased each season. Notch for business, peak for formal occasions and shawl for evenings is a rule that has served well-dressed men for the better part of a century, and it will serve you just as reliably. Buy the right shape for the occasion, get the width right for your frame, and your suits will quietly do their job for years.
Bailey's Menswear shares practical, down-to-earth guidance on men's fashion, grooming and style advice for readers across the UK.
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